NewStats: 3,263,619 , 8,180,773 topics. Date: Friday, 06 June 2025 at 08:35 PM 5l5918

The Minister of Finance minister is quite truthful in all her speeches. Nigerians should endeavor to someone who is committed to changing things in the country.

Dr. Iweala will always be a shining light in the Nigerian society!

The Reps are hungry! what Otedola said about them?

THE HOUSE OF REPS ARE ANGRY WITH HER BECAUSE SHE HAS BLOCKED THEIR PIPES WHERE THEY SIPHON PUBLIC FUNDS. NATURALLY, THEY WILL GO AFTER HER.

WE ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON. WE NEED NOT CRUCIFY IWEALA FOR SAYING THE FACT!

phildon: ...but 100 percent petrol subsidy removal was possible. Her picture merely reminds me of that pig- Napoleon in Animal Farm

Bring your strong case! Not abuses! U cant championed your argument wit foul language. it is not possible.

Kobojunkie:

How can she be right? She is already working on the 2013 budget, and I bet you that there will be a lot of ONGOING PROJECTS on that list, and requests for more money for these projects in there. Why is it not feasible to expect 100% implementation, and at least 3 months of work/progress report, on most every project we allocated money for this year?

She is right and really on point as well!

you want figures, they give you figures which are as believable as election results in Nigeria. it is apparent the national assembly does not want true figures by the impeachment threat. what the government has confirmed is that what they could not achieve in 6 months was done in a month with little motivation by the impeachment threat.

Ninapha: NOI. Did i hear u well. The FG 'will not go back on her decision'? So whether she is cleared or not is irrelevant. Hmm words are mightier than actions oo. It wd hv been more diplomatic to give d reason for reinstating her. NOI, dont let them destroy what u hv built. As much as i this govt, not to d detriment of our collective growth.

NOI is concerned about due process and the rule of law. The auditing firm that probed Oteh never convict her of any wrong doing. So why must she be hanged?

We need to understand that the minister of finance has regularly been opposed to the idea of piling domestic debt. Her opposition is based on the fact that piling up domestic debt will choke our economy. We need to understand her point and embrace her proposal. I am of the opinion that she has a good plan for Nigeria.

manny4life:


LOL,

@topic,

I think setting priorities is the most important thing.



Nope, not these project, I should say, NOT all of these project but a some of them were amongst the budget. If you looked at the budget speech, if I'm correct, sometimes about 3months ago, the FMF( fed min of finan) stated that Nigeria had about 6000+ project that had been started from previous istration but were either abandoned or not completed. Some of which were worked into this year's budget. For instance, POWER took a good chunk to complete in the short term haul.

I agree with you!

Face your work! She is a woman of virtue! I believe she has no intention to expose her body! Her brain is enough charm!

Three reports yesterday indicate that Minister of Finance and Coordinating
Minister for Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's credibility might just recover
from recent setbacks suffered from the fallout at the removal of fuel subsidy
and the escalating debt profile of the country under her watch.

The first report is that the committee headed by the Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, which was set
up by the Federal Ministry of Finance to arrears of claims on petrol
subsidy for 2011 has uncovered overpayments amounting to N430 billion to
private oil marketers and importers.

The second report is that the National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a
management process for the $1billion Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and also
approved increase of the Excess Crude to $10billion from the present
$5.3billion to protect the economy from persistent global crises. This is to
provide at least a three-month buffer protection for the economy from the
mounting uncertainty of the global economy.

Not long ago the Debt Management Office (DMO) commenced the release of N17
billion in Sovereign Debt Notes to oil marketers for the payment of 2012 fuel
subsidy claims from the Petroleum Fund, but the Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, suspended all further payments, saying
that no payments will be made until the ongoing investigation and verification
into all claims is concluded.

Ngozi Iwealla also said the payment of subsidy claims for the import allocations
given to the marketers in December 2011, which covers the fuel imported up to
the first quarter of 2012, was suspended after the claims by both the marketers
and the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission overshot the budget.

http://elombah.com/index.php/articles/daniel-elombah/11687-mrs-ngozi-okonjo-iwea\
lla-bounces-back

Of the N888 billion earmarked for subsidy payments in the 2012 budget, a total
of N232 billion was set aside for the payment of the 2011 arrears.

However, the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) had revealed that it had spent
N451 billion of the N888 billion on the payment of arrears for 2011.

A further N17 billion was paid on 2012 subsidy claims, but the ministry last
month suspended further payments on 2011 and 2012 claims, pending the submission
of the committee led by Aig-Imoukhuede.

The suspension of payments on subsidy claims had created panic in the market, as
several importers suspended importation, claiming that they could no longer
raise Letters of Credit for the importation of new cargoes.

Observers expressed fear over the possibility of a dislocation in the supply
regime caused by the suspension of fuel imports, but the Minister insisted that
the suspension of further payments for fuel imports under the subsidy regime, is
to enable the committee set up by the presidency and the Economic Management
Team conclude the verification of claims by marketers and NNPC and payments made
to them.

The committee, will be formally submitting its report to the government this
week, but according to reports, they discovered that some marketers including
companies that did not feature in the report of the ad hoc committee of the
House of Representatives that probed the istration of fuel subsidies had
fraudulently siphoned billions from the fuel subsidy armada.

The committee discovered discrepancies in the amount of subsidy claims made by
some of the marketers and the volume of products they imported during the period
under investigation.

Government sources explained that though the Federal Government had already
spent more than 50 per cent of what was budgeted for subsidy payments in the
2012 budget on 2011 arrears, the finance ministry was not considering submitting
a supplementary budget to meet its obligations for the rest of the year.

"The minister (Okonjo-Iwealla) is trying to work out the methodology to plug the
leaks in the system and would rather do this than submit a supplementary budget
to President Goodluck Jonathan for onward delivery to the National Assembly, as
this could lead to fiscal expansion and more borrowing.

"It is not in her agenda to submit a supplementary budget, as whatever method
she uses to get marketers to cough up what they owe the government will lead to
savings for the federation," the source explained.

With the committee concluding its findings, subsidy payments will resume next
month.

The committee headed by Aig-Imoukhuede was set up in May to undertake a forensic
audit and claims by oil marketers and NNPC, and the payments made to
them.

President Jonathan and Okonjo-Iweala, sources added, are determined to plug
leakages in the fuel subsidy regime and to improve the management of the
Petroleum Fund (PSF).

I must personally congratulate the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister
for Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for setting up this and suspending
payment of subsidy until the genuineness of the claim by oil marketers are
verified.

Those in the know said the committee, which is headed by the Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede,
did its work in a professional, forensic and non-controversial manner.

It is hoped, that the Aig-Imoukhuede report would resolve all the discrepancies
associated with oil subsidy payments and volume of fuel imports and consumption
in the country.

The names of fuel marketers established to have been overpaid by the
Aig-Imoukhuede-committee should be forwarded to the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is already investigating marketers indicted in
the report of the House committee.

The Federal Government must march words with action by also implementing the
report of the House adhoc committee on Subsidy Management.

The finance ministry should try to establish a methodology on how it shall get
the marketers, whose subsidy claims were established to contain discrepancies
and which had been paid subsidies to which they were not entitled to, to refund
the money.

They should be compelled to either refund it to the treasury or if a marketer is
discovered to have been overpaid, the amount will be netted off against any
outstanding claims it might have.

The ball is now in the court of President Goodluck Jonathan to punish the
identified culprits.

With yesterday's sacking of the board and management of the Nigeria National
Petroleum Commission, the cleansing might have started. On Tuesday, Mr Jonathan
replaced the head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and three other
senior officials "in furtherance of efforts to achieve greater transparency and
ability". But he should not stop at mere dismissal.

The third and last gladdening report from Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the finance
minister is that her Ministry is getting into the fight against the siphoning of
oil by oil thieves.

The Nigerian state and oil companies are losing a billion dollars or more a
month to oil theft by criminal networks whose activities have expanded rapidly
under the government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday told the Financial Times that the trade in stolen
oil led to a 17 per cent fall in official oil sales in April, or about 400,000
barrels per day). At average April prices of $121 per barrel, this results in a
loss of $1.2bn monthly.

This is a higher estimate than that given earlier by SPDC, Royal Dutch Shell's
Nigerian subsidiary, which put theft at between 150,000 and 180,000bd, or a loss
of $5b yearly.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala said the theft of oil – known in Nigeria as "bunkering" – along
with fraud in the allocation of a controversial fuel subsidy, may together have
cost the state $14bn in 2011.

This means that Nigeria has a limited cushion if oil prices continue their
current fall. The country, Africa's second-largest economy, depends on oil for
over 75 percent of hard currency earnings and typically over 90 percent of state
revenues.

"We have to get very serious about the bunkering issue," she told the Financial
Times.

"If we can stop the amount that is stolen we can beef up the excess crude
faster," she said, referring to the rainy-day where savings
accrue above a benchmark price for oil – set at $72.

This holds more than $4bn, Ms Okonjo-Iweala says. But those funds could be
targeted to supplement this year's budget for the fuel subsidy which has already
been largely depleted.

To Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, I say jide ka iji!

http://elombah.com/index.php/articles/daniel-elombah/11687-mrs-ngozi-okonjo-iwealla-bounces-back

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE

News Release, May 29, 2012

SUBSIDY: FINANCE MINISTRY WILL PAY ONLY VERIFIED MARKETERS

*Speculation that prudence in subsidy payments will cause fuel scarcity is wrong

The Federal Ministry of Finance has a responsibility to ensure that subsidy payments are made in a prudent and transparent manner. In line with this focus, the Ministry will continue to pay all marketers whose claims of fuel importation have been verified as genuine.

The next meeting of the Federal s Allocation Committee in June will provide the occasion for resumption of payments.

While it is ready to work with relevant agencies for the common good of Nigerians, the Ministry will not be stampeded into making hasty payments on deliveries that have not been substantiated or verified.

Against this background, the Ministry categorically rejects the idea that a prudent approach to ing and making payments will lead to fuel scarcity.

Indeed, to say that the Ministry’s efforts to learn lessons from the past and reform the way payments are made will lead to fuel scarcity is simply not the case.

The Ministry’s approach to the subsidy regime can best be appreciated against the backdrop of the following facts:
1. Based on PPPRA and NNPC’s claims, 451 billion of the N888 billion subsidy budget for 2012 has already been spent on arrears for 2011.
2. Since the NNPC/PPPRA’s estimate for the 2011 arrears was N232 billion, this means that more than double the projected amount has already been spent and those agencies are is still bringing in more claims.

This is clearly not sustainable and the Ministry has a responsibility to ensure that the lapses that may have led to this unhealthy situation are not repeated. That is the least that the Ministry owes the Nigerian people.

In line with the directive of the President, the Ministry will continue to work towards the improvement of the fuel subsidy regime based on the lessons learnt from our recent experiences.

The Ministry is determined to put in place a strong framework for the fuel subsidy regime that is both transparent and sustainable.

The ministry’s approach to improving the subsidy regime is predicated on the following core objectives:

1. Ensuring that the country’s finances are managed in a manner that clearly protects the interests of the Nigerian people
2. Putting in place a system that ensures that only the genuine claims of genuine marketers are honoured
3. Performing its functions in an efficient and proactive manner to ensure that Nigerians get fuel at the right time and at the right price.



Paul C Nwabuikwu
Senior Special Assistant to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance

NOI is a jewel. A gift to the nation of Africa!

merge: good. She was not even for the people but her pockets and the west. Nonsense.

I wonder what you meant by this dumb statement of yours? Dr. Iweala is one of the most worthy Nigerian daughter on the global stage today. We can't name three great people from Nigeria without Dr. Iweala being mentioned! I do agree with President Mugabe on this issue. The West did err!

I don't know why the minister of finance should be singled out for this! This practice has been there before her coming on board. Other ministry is entitled to security votes. I'm of the opinion that she will utilise the money judiciously.

[quote author=engineerd]

Dr. Iweala does not deserve to be crucify for the woes of Nigeria. This date back to her coming. She is just cleaning the mess that has been left behind.

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE


News release. April 19, 2012


SUBSIDY PAYMENTS: FINANCE MINISTRY TERMINATES SERVICES OF

ANTS AND AUDITORS



Concerned about the management of the subsidy regime, the Federal Ministry of Finance has for the last two months been reviewing aspects of the implementation of the subsidy regime related to its functions. The review has produced a lot of useful details on what was wrong with the system and what needs to be done to ensure improvement going forward.



The review process kicked off in February when the ministry and relevant government agencies held a meeting with bankers and marketers at the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan. This was followed by a subsequent session with the ing and auditing firms to re-evaluate their work.



Based on the review, the Ministry has taken the following steps:



· The services of the audit and ing firms responsible for certifying the documents and claims of marketers before payment have been terminated. The companies are Akintola Williams and Co and Adekanola and Co.



· The Ministry has established a committee made up of credible and experienced persons from the private and public sector with strong technical component under the chairmanship of Mr. Aigboje Imoukuede to examine the claims of payment arrears for 2011 currently being made by marketers. This is to ensure that only genuine claims are honoured.



· The ministry is also finalising a new and more effective system to replace the current arrangement and, in this regard, a second committee has been set up to propose a good way to forward.



Based on other outcomes of the review, the ministry will take further actions as necessary.



In a related development, the Federal s Allocation Committee (FAAC) has put on hold further depletion of the Excess Crude (ECA).

Dr. Iweala has fought a good fight. She has opened up the process. She has proved a point that merit should be the basis for electing the World Bank president.[/size][size=8pt][/size][size=8pt][font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font]

Dr. Iweala will surely win the World Bank contest. Reason? she has the expertise and experience!

khukhi:

True that imagine someone who cannot manage her own countries financial problems being handed over the planets financial matters to handle... That would be utter madness. I'm pretty sure the first thing they will look at is the value of the currency she's managing and from then on they will be speechless.

Dr. Iweala has managed Nigeria economy perfectly!

bittyend: Is it me, but looks like NINJA TURTLE....

Clueless and inarticulate woman, thieving BASTARD... I hope your slave masters give you the job - so, you can stop destroying Nigerian lives... This bytch takes from the poor to serve her slave masters and the elites..

Examine your head! NOI is articulate and honest. A pride to Naija land!

Election Of Okonjo-Iweala As World Bank President Will Favour Developing Nations- Experts

Some financial experts said election of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance, as the President of World Bank, would bring development to developing nations.

They said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

NAN reports that the African Union, had during its just concluded summit in Addis Ababa, endorsed the nomination of Okonjo-Iweala for the president of the bank.

Dr Olumide Owoade, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Lagos State University, said that the election of Okonjo-Iweala as the World Bank president would promote the country’s business interest at the international level.

He said that her election would also place the country on the competitive advantage over other African countries.

Owoade said that the position would enable her to present the nation ‘economic problems to the IMF for necessary financial assistance.

“If the minister of finance is elected as the next president of the World Bank, it will make the country to be closer to the IMF which will have positive influence on the economy,” he said.

Dr Samuel Nzekwe, the immediate past President, Association of National ants of Nigeria (ANAN), said that the election of Okonjo-Iweala as the World Bank President would make the country to be more recognised internationally.

He said that the position would enable the international community to begin to explore the investment opportunities in the country.

Nzekwe urged the Federal Government to aggressively put in place adequate measure for infrastructure development, good governance and security to woo the investors.

“The ability of the government to have a good framework in place will make the emergence of Okonjo-Iweala as the World Bank president to have positive impact on the nation’s economy,” he said.

Also, Mr Eddie Osarenkhoe, the former President, Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN), said that Okonjo-Iweala’s election would be beneficial to the Africa countries.

He said that this would help the country in sourcing for external loans to revamp the decaying infrastructure.

Osarenkhoe said that it would also attract new foreign investors into the country, which he said, would provide jobs opportunities for the unemployed youth.

“I believe that if Okonjo-Iweala is elected as the World Bank President, it will promote the nation’s economic activities and enhance good performance,” he said.

http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/20650/2012/03/29/election_okonjoiweala_world_bank_president_will_favour_developing_nations_experts.html

The presidency of the minister of finance will sure be a great pride to all Nigerian.

The FT published an editorial on Tuesday arguing that Nigeria’s minister of the economy and finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, should get the World Bank presidency job. While recognising that the US candidate Jim Yong Kim “could be a good choice” because of his background in health and his managerial experience at the World Health Organisation, the FT states that “the Bank needs more than this”:

“Its new leader should have a command of macroeconomics, the respect of leaders of both the funding and the funded countries, and the management skills to implement his or her vision. These requirements make Ms Okonjo-Iweala the best person for the role.”


The editorial also praises her “real-world experience of policy-making in one of the most challenging developing countries”, and her “unique knowledge” of the World Bank gained from serving as a managing director under Robert Zoellick, although it its that “one risk could be the temptation not to challenge the status quo”.

“Having an African woman at the helm of the world’s leading development institution would send a strong signal both to developing and developed countries. … In this less than ideal world, Mr Kim’s appointment seems inevitable. But if the Bank’s shareholders wanted the best president, they would opt for Ms Okonjo-Iweala.”

But what about the candidate nominated by Brazil, José Antonio Ocampo, who is barely mentioned by the FT? Judging by the preliminary results of the poll currently running on this blog, he should not be overlooked. Many people could argue that the Colombian former finance minister is at least as well qualified as Okonjo-Iweala, and some may even say that both are more appropriate candidates for the World Bank presidency than Kim. Jeff Sachs, who jumped the gun in announcing his candidacy to the post only to drop out last week in favour of Kim’s nomination by the US, does not think so:

“Kim is one of the world’s great leaders in public health. He has worked with another great public-health leader, Paul Farmer, to pioneer the extension of treatment for AIDS, tuberculosis, and other diseases to the world’s poorest people. More recently, he has been President of Dartmouth College, a leading American university. He therefore combines professional expertise, global experience, and considerable management know-how – all perfect credentials for the World Bank presidency.”

http://www.worldbankpresident.org/acanestrelli/candidates/ft-praises-ngozi-okonjo-iweala#more-1027

The backlash against Jim Yong Kim, President Obama’s choice for the World Bank, has begun. A couple pieces in the Financial Times make the case.

One, from Ed Luce, at least has some merit. Luce argues that the selection was a break from the past, but not enough of a break, because truly, the US shouldn’t have a monopoly on the position:

Were the process genuinely meritocratic – if the World Bank board was required to find the best-qualified candidate for the job – Dr Kim would be unlikely to find himself on a shortlist of three. In contrast, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the only African in the running, would be among anyone’s top picks. But the process doesn’t work like that. In spite of Mr Obama’s internationalist aspirations, fear of a domestic backlash clearly weighed even heavier on his mind [...]

Much has changed since Mr Zoellick was appointed to the job in 2007. While the west has talked about a world recession, China’s per capita income has risen by 43 per cent… African incomes have grown by almost double digits…. The relative weight of the global economy is shifting. But its economic institutions remain frozen in time…. There is still time in this – and future – moments for Mr Obama to take a more expansive view of what would best serve America’s interests.

I don’t disagree with this. Clearly there’s a balancing that needs to happen in international economics and finance. The monopolies over the World Bank and the IMF make no sense anymore in a changing world. Obama probably ran up against the edge of what he felt he could do politically, but that doesn’t complete the transition to an international system that respects emerging markets and their role. I understand the President’s reticence – it’s a familiar pattern – but Luce cannot really be explained away.

However, this bit of ridiculousness can easily be chucked:

Jim Yong Kim, the US nominee to head the World Bank, is coming under fire over a book he co-authored that criticises “neoliberalism” and “corporate-led economic growth”, arguing that in many cases they had made the middle classes and the poor in developing countries worse off.

Some economists are arguing that Dying for Growth, tly edited by Dr Kim and published in 2000, puts too great a focus on health policy over broader economic growth.

“Dr Kim would be the first World Bank president ever who seems to be anti-growth,” said William Easterly, professor of economics at New York University. “Even the severest of World Bank critics like me think that economic growth is what we want.”

This is ridiculous. Easterly has a narrow definition of the word “growth” that’s defined only by corporate profits. I’m delighted to see that Kim rejects this, preferring the notion of shared growth and prosperity as the only kind of growth worth having.

Kim still has rivals for what is nominally an election to run the World Bank, in particular Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. And perhaps he doesn’t match up well with Ngozi. But anyone willing to critique the soul-crushing system of perpetual corporate growth at the expense of the citizenry has my vote.

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/03/27/the-critiques-against-jim-young-kim-both-good-and-bad/

http://www.worldbankpresident.org/acanestrelli/candidates/ocampo-the-world-bank-president-should-be-selected-on-the-basis-of-merits#more-1040

While receiving less media attention, José Antonio Ocampo appears to be an interesting candidate for those who seek for a developing country candidate capable (and willing) to take forward the Post-Washington Consensus agenda.

Ngozi Okonjo Iewala, the Financial Times candidate, has been criticized for ing the Washington Consensus and top-down solutions. Also, it was pointed out that the fact that she spent 20 years at the Bank might help her to better understand how the institution works, but it is most probably a limitation to bring new ideas or a change in mentality at the Bank.

Ocampo, on the contrary, is being mentioned as the best placed to achieve “a new governance of the international financial institutions” and praised for being part of the Latin Americans who challenged neoliberal policies in the region.

The CNN interviewed Ocampo yesterday, from where we can get a glimpse of what he intends to change at the Bank:

On the agenda:

I think the World Bank should, to start with, be more engaged with major economic issues. Particularly with diversification of the developing countries. Both low-income countries and middle-income countries, because there are different challenges at each stage of development. And this issue has been largely ignored by the World Bank for some time.

Some of the issues that were in the past but were somewhat ignored should be emphasised, particularly the issue of infrastructure. Which was, of course, the main priority of the World Bank from, say the 1950s to the 1970s. It was largely ignored during the period of structural reforms – and is back.

On his contenders:

I think from the perspective of experience and development, there is no doubt that the minister of finance of Nigeria and myself, we have a broader perspective on development issues. Economic, social and environmental.

On the selection process:

Whether the view that the World Bank president should be selected on the basis of merits, in what they can offer the World Bank, I think is what we have to see. I really hope that this is the standard by which the board will select the next president of the World Bank.

Amidst early praise for President Barack Obama’s nomination of Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim as head of the World Bank, Lant Pritchett, a tenured professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who worked at the World Bank for 17 years, is blasting Kim’s nomination as “a terrible idea.”

Says Pritchett, who teaches courses in the practice of international development, “It’s an embarrassment to the U.S. You cannot with a straight face say this person is the most qualified to lead the World Bank.”
An infectious disease specialist, Kim helped found a Boston-based nonprofit called Partners in Health that trains community health workers in developing countries to make home visits to treat diseases like TB. Kim also directed the World Health Organisation’s department of H.I.V./AIDS.
But unlike past World Bank presidents, he has no experience in banking, policy making, economics or development.
Kim has been president of Dartmouth for the last three years.
Kim was also awarded a MacArthur “genius” fellowship in 2003, and was born in Seoul, South Korea, moving to the US with his family at age 5.
Forbes ran a recent profile of him here.
In the World Bank’s 68-year history, the US has always nominated the president, who must be voted on by the Bank’s 25-member executive board.
This year, Angola, South Africa and Nigeria nominated a competing candidate, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister and a former World Bank official.
Pritchett insists she is much more qualified than Kim.
He points out that the US has less than a 20 per cent share of board votes and though he gives Kim a 60 per cent chance of being appointed, he says that countries like India and China could wind up opposing Kim’s nomination and pressing for Okonjo-Iweala.
“There is no way you can say with a straight face that this man is more qualified to head the World Bank than Ngozi,” insists Pritchett. Okonjo-Iweala has tackled corruption in Nigeria and because she has worked inside the Bank and as the Bank’s government counterpart in a developing country with complex problems, Pritchett insists she has precisely the kind of experience needed in a World Bank leader.
“At best, Kim has worked with ministers of health, but they are in one of many, many government agencies,” says Pritchett. “A minister of finance has to make hard choices across sectors. Having the experience of a minister of finance is the optimal experience for being president of the World Bank.” Adds Pritchett, nominating Kim “is like picking the short stop for the New York Yankees out of the scrub leagues.”
Pritchett points out that the World Bank, whose mission is to reduce global poverty by providing financial resources and sharing expertise with developing nations, works with fragile governments like Pakistan and Afghanistan on complex development issues, from raising tax revenues to elevating GDP to reforming education.
For Pritchett, there is an important distinction between the kind of work Kim has done, which he calls “charity work,” and the complex tasks engaged in by the World Bank. “Development is about countries becoming prosperous, democratic and capable, like being able to deliver the mail, having police forces that work and kids who get educated,” says Pritchett. “Charity work is helping people cope with the fact that they live in places where they don’t have those things.”
Pritchett, who ed Obama’s presidential bid, says that the President overlooked much more qualified candidates like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary who is a colleague and friend of Pritchett’s at Harvard. “The Obama istration had some concerns about the political left flank on this and did the craven thing,” says Pritchett.
Adds Pritchett, “there’s no question that Kim has done terrific things, but I wouldn’t nominate Mother Teresa to head the World Bank if she were still alive.”

http://www.theeagleonline.com.ng/home/news/2089-harvard-professor-okonjo-iweala-better-qualified-that-obamas-world-bank-nominee

It will be in the interest of Ghana to the candidacy of Dr. Iweala.